The opening of Skyfall this week connects to my love of historical novels via John Dee, an Elizabethan secret agent who signed his letters "007".
Dee was a mathematician and astrologer who taughts many of Elizabeth's advisers. The novel The Spymaster's Daughter emphasizes his interest in codes and his role in breaking the cipher used by Mary Queen of Scots.
The double 0 in Dee's signature stood for "your [Elizabeth's] eyes only" and 7 was chosen because of its cabalistic associations.
More historical novels involving Dee: Shadow of Night, The Queen's Fool
The John Dee Society is dedicated to publishing Dee's works and assembling a catalogue of his library, one of the largest in England before it was dispersed.
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